Treating agent dispensing means



g- 3, 1965 N. L. KENDT ETAL 3, 7

TREATING AGENT DISPENSING MEANS Filed Feb. 1'7, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1FIG] IN VEN TORS NO RMAU L. KENDT 3 Ton-m A. mcnzn TR.

THE? ATTORNEY 1965 N. KENDT s-rm. 3,198,387

TREATING AGENT DISPENSING MEANS Filed Feb. 17, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2FIG. 2

INVENTORS NORMAN L.. KENDT 8 II0HN A.D\CKEN IR.

THE-\R ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,198,387 TREATING AGENT DISPENSINGMEANS Norman L. Kendt and John A. Dicken, J12, Louisville,

Ky., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation 0t New YorkFiled Feb. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 345,432 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-70) Thisinvention relates generally to automatic washing machines and, morespecifically, to a treating agent dispensing means for an automaticwashing machine.

The present invention is particularly useful as a rinse aid injector foran automatic dishwasher, although obviously not limited in usefulness tosuch an application. A rinse aid, or wetting agent, is injected into theWash chamber of a dishwasher during the final rinse to minimize spottingof the dishes, and particularly the glassware, as the dishes are driedfollowing. the rinse. The broad concept of injecting a rinse aid at thispoint in a dishwasher cycle is not new and many devices have beenheretofore proposed for accomplishing this. However, the devicesheretofore proposed involve costly solenoids, require refilling aftereach operation, or do not allow selectivity of operation.

For example, the most common rinse aid injector in use today includes avery expensive solenoid to operate the metering or dispensing mechanism.Since a solenoid is used, there is also an additional switch required inthe sequence control means. Moreover, the solenoid operated device doesnot provide selectivity of operation without the employment of a secondadditional switch to override the switch in the sequence control means.Selectivity, as used herein, means the ability to operate the dishwasherthrough a full cycle with, or without, rinse aid being injected at theselection of the user. With a solenoid operated dispenser, it isnecessary to position an additional selection switch in electricalseries with the solenoid to override the sequence control means switchin the event it is desired to omit the dispensing during a particularwash cycle.

It is also desirable to be able to store several days supply of agent inthe dispenser so that it is not necessary to refill the dispenser aftereach dishwasher operation. This is especially true in connection with arinse aid dispenser since the rinse aid, or wetting agent, is generallya viscous liquid not easily poured in small quantities.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a treating agent dispensingmeans capable of storing several days supply, which will provideselectivity of operation and which obviates a costly solenoid.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved treating agentdispensing means for an automatic washing machine.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an im proved treatingagent dispensing means which will store several days supply of treatingagent.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a treatingagent dispensing means which will allow for selectivity of operation bythe user of the washing machine.

Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, there isprovided a treating agent dispensing means for use in an automaticwashing machine having a wash chamber adapted to contain articles to bewashed therein, wash means to efiect a washing action upon the articles,and sequence control means to conduct the machine through a sequence ofoperations comprising a wash cycle. The dispensing means includes areservoir adapted to contain several times the quantity of agentdispensed with each operation of the dispensing means. A metering meansis provided to meter a predetermined quantity of 3,l98,387 Patented Aug.3, 1965 agent and direct it from the reservoir into the wash chamber.Energy storing means are associated with the meters ing means such thatrelease of the energy stored by the storing means causes operation ofthe metering means. Manually operable means are provided to energize theenergy storing means and the energy storing means are adapted to bereleased by the sequence control means to thereby cause dispensing ofthe agent into the washing chamber. It should be noted that with theabove-described arrangement, the dispensing means will not operateunless it has been manually energized. Therefore, the operator of theautomatic washing machine can select the cycle during which thedispensing means will operate by manipulating the manually operablemeans.

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing outand distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention, it is believed the invention will be better understood fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which: I

FIGURE 1 is a side View, partially cut awayto show details, of atop-opening portable dishwasher employing the present invention; I

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the treating agent dispensing meansof the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2; FIGURE 4is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIGURE 3; r

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of FIGURE 3 and FIGURE6 is a partial view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the treating agentdispenser in a diiferent step of its operation.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGURE 1, there isillustrated an automatic washing machine in the form of a portabledishwasher 10 having an outer cabinet 11 which, in cooperation with a.bottom .wall 12 and a top wall 13, forms a wash chamber 14. Disposedwithin wash chamber 14 are dish supporting racks 15 and 16. Dishsupporting rack 16 is divided into two sections, a stationary rearsection 17 and a movable front section 18.

A closure member 19, of which top wall 13 forms the inner surface, isprovided to allow access to wash chamber 14. Closure member 19 pivotsabout a hinge member 26 when opened or closed. Bracket 21 interconnectsfront section 18 of rack 16 with closure member 19 such that, whenclosure member 19 is opened, section 18 moves upwardly and rearwardly tooverlie section 17. An arm 22, hingedly connected to section 18 at point23 and also hingedly connected to cabinet 11 at point 2 4, is providedto control tipping of section 18 as it is moved. The rack 15, and itsassociation with closure member 19, does not form a material part of thepresent invention and may be substantially as described and claimed inUS. Patent No. 3,087,769, issued'to Lauren W. Guth on April 30, 1963,and assigned to the General Electric Company, assignee of the presentinvention.

Bottom wall 12 has a centrally depressed portion forming a sump 25 sothat any liquid within chamber 14 will collect therein. Supported bybottom wall 12 in sump 25 is a motor-pump unit 26. Motor-pump unit 26includes an electric drive motor 27 and a pump 28. Pump 28 has an inlet29 which draws fluids fromvsump 25 and, in one direction of rotation ofmotor 27, pumps this fluid up through spray arm 30 and spray tube 31. Inthis same direction of rotation of motor 17, pump 28 also pumps liquidthrough conduit 32, Which interconnects with conduit 33 at coupling 34.The fluid pumped into conduit 32 is ejected from spray device 35,rotatably secured to closure member 19.

In the opposite direction of rotation of drive motor 27, pump 28 drawswash fluids from sump and propels 'them through effluent dischargeoutlet 36 which communicates with a normal household sewer system (notshown. An electrical resistance heating element 37 may be provided inwash chamber 14 for the purpose of heating the wash fluids therein orfacilitating the drying of dishware supported by rack 15 and 16 uponcompletion of the washing and rinsing thereof.

All of the structure thus far described is, in most respects,conventional and may therefore vary a great deal Without materiallyaffecting the present invention. The present invention is, as mentionedearlier, in no way limited in utility to application in a dishwasher, adishwasher being shown and described for purposes of illustration only.

Attached to the front side of cabinet 11 is member 38 which, due to itsspaced relationship with the front side of cabinet 11, forms anenclosure 39 which houses such elements as a sequence control means 40(FIGURE 2) and the treating agent dispensing means 41 of the presentinvention.

Referring now to FIGURES 2-6, the treating agent dispensing means 41 isshown in greater detail for purposes of clearer illustration. Thetreating agent dispensing means 41 includes a reservoir 42, the interiorof which communicates with a fill tube 43. As best shown in FIG- URE 3,fill tube 43 extends through cabinet 11 so as to terminate within washchamber 14. With this arrangement, any spillage that occurs duringfilling of the reservoir will settle into sump 25 rather than onto thesurrounding floor as may occur if the fill tube were outside 'washchamber 14. A funnel-like element 44 is provided in fill tube 43 tofacilitate the pouring of treating agent into fill tube 43. A removablecap 45 covers the open end of fill tube 43.

Reservoir 42 is defined by a lower portion 46 of the dispensing means41. Lower portion 46 is secured at its lower end to cabinet 11 by meansof a screw 47 and is secured at its upper end to an upper portion 48 ofdispensing means 41. Sealing means (not specifically shown) may beprovided at the junction between lower portion 46 and upper portion 48to avoid any leakage of the treating agent from the reservoir 42. Upperportion 43 is secured to cabinet 11 by means of a nut 49 whichcooperates With a flange 50 to grip cabinet 11 therebetween.

Positioned within reservoir 42 is a metering means including a piston 51and a cylinder 52. The cylinder 52 is in the form of a depressedsump-like area in the bottom wall of reservoir 42 as best seen in FIGURE3. Means are provided to interconnect the cylinder 52 with .the washchamber 14. These means include a first hole or passageway 53 in lowerportion 46 and a second hole 54 which intersects first hole 53. Secondhole 54 receives a tube 55 which extends upwardly within reservoir 42'until it intersects an opening 56 in upper portion 48. Opening 56 isintersected by a second opening 57, which in turn in intersected by athird opening 58 to form a "continuous passageway. It can therefore beseen that movement of piston 51 downwardly will result in fluid beingconveyed, via the afore-described series of holes, tube and openings,from cylinder 52 to wash chamber 14.

It may be well to point out at this time that the required amount ofagent to be dispensed into chamber 14 is from 1.0 cc. to 1.8 cc. Inother. words, if an amount of treating agent within these limit isdispensed into the wash chamber 14, the desired result will be achieved.This comparatively large tolerance of 0.8 cc. allows for the variationcreated by a variance of the level of agent in reservoir 42 as well asvariance in efficiency of the metering means. When reservoir 42 iscompletely full of agent, the passageways interconnecting cylinder 52and wash chamber 14 remain ubstantially filled between operations of thepiston 51. However, when reservoir 42 is nearly empty, the passagewaysinterconnecting cylinder 52 and wash chamber 14 become substantiallyempty since the level of agent in tube 55 is substantially the same asthe level of agent in reservoir 42. The volume of the passagewaysinterconnecting reservoir 42 and Wash chamber 14 may be dimensioned suchthat the amount of agent dispensed in wash chamber 14 will vary fromapproximately 1.8 cc. when reservoir 42 is substantially full and themetering means as at a maximum efiiciency to approximately 1.0 cc. whenreservoir 42 is substantially empty and the metering means is at aminimum efiiciency.

Piston 51 extends into upper portion 48 and a pin 59 passes throughpiston 51 near its upper end. Pin 59 extends outwardly from each side ofpiston 51 where it is received by a slot 60 in each leg 61 of yoke 62.Yoke 62 is carried by a shaft 63 which extends out through upper portion48. The portion of shaft 63 which extends out beyond upper portion 43receives ratchet 64 which has a spring 65 interconnecting it with asection of the upper portion 48. As can be seen from the drawing,

spring 55 biases ratchet 64, shaft 63 and yoke 62 such that piston Si isforced downwardly.

Pivotally secured toupper portion 43 of the dispensing means 41 is alatch member 66. Latch member 66 has a surface 67 which cooperates witha surface 68 on ratchet 64 to retain ratchet 64 in the cocked position.The cocked position is the position wherein piston 51 is in the upperposition and spring member 65 has been put in tension. This position isillustrated in FIGURES 3, 4

and 5. A spring 69 is provided to bias latch member 66 toward ratchet 64so that latch member 66 will automatically retain ratchet 64 in thecocked position whenever ratchet 64 is rotated so as to move surface 68to surface 67.

A manually operable handle 70 is provided to allow manual cocking ofratchet 64. Latch member 66, spring 65 and ratchet 64 all combine toform an energy storing means which, when released, causes dispensing ofagent from reservoir 42 into wash chamber 14.

Cocking, or energizing, of the energy storing means is accomplished bymanuallydepressing handle 70 which causes a counterclockwise rotation ofratchet 64 (as seen in FIGURES 2 and 6). Handle 70 is depressed adistance sufiicient to cause surface 68 of ratchet 64 to pass surface 67of latch member 66 whereupon spring 69 biases latch member 66 in aclockwise direction (as seen in FIGURES 2 and 6) to interengage surfaces67 and 68. The energy storing means remains thus energized until latchmember 66 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction to release ratchet64, Whereupon'spring 65 will cause piston 51 to dispense agent asdescribed above. Latch member 66 is provided with an extension 71positioned to be contacted by a cam 72 which is moved by sequencecontrol means 40.

It should be clear from the foregoing description, that the presentinvention provides a treating agent dispensing means capable of storingseveral days supply of treating agent, which will provide selectivity ofoperation and which obviates a costly solenoid. Selectivity of opera-"U011 is achieved by the unique cocking arrangement including handle 70and the releasing means including cam 72 and extension 71 of latchmember 66. Sequence control means 40 rotate cam 72 one revolution foreach cycle of the dishwasher operation; however, cam 72 is effective torelease the energy storing means only if the energy storing means hasbeen energized by depression of handle amass? portant because motorsnormally incorporated in sequence control means are of very low powerand their eilective life is greatly diminished if they are called uponto perform any measurable amount of work.

Another very important feature of the present invention is thestructural arrangement wherein it is virtually impossible for anysignificant leaks to develop. A review of FIGURE 3 will illustrate thatall joints in the conduit interconnecting the metering means and thewash chamber are positioned Within the reservoir 42 so that if any leaksshall develop at these joints, leakage would simply occur within thereservoir thereby creating little or no problem.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects ofthe invention are not limited to the particular details of constructionof the example illustrated, and it is contemplated that various othermodifications or applications will occur to those skilled in the art. Itis therefore intended that the appended claims shall cover suchmodifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit andscope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. For use in an automatic washing machine having a wash chamber adaptedto contain articles to be washed therein, wash means to effect a washingaction upon the articles, and sequence control means to conduct themachine through a sequence of operations comprising a wash cycle, atreating agent dispensing means comprising:

(a) a housing forming a reservoir adapted to contain several times thequantity of agent dispensed with each operation of the dispensing means,

(b) 'a depressed sump in the bottom of said reservoir forming acylinder,

(0) a piston disposed within said reservoir and adapted to cooperatewith said cylinder,

((1) a first passageway formed in said housing and communicating withsaid cylinder,

(e) a second passageway formed in said housing and communicating withthe wash chamber,

(f) a tube at one end connected to said first passageway at a pointinternally of said housing and at the other end connected to said secondpassageway at a point internally of said housing,

(g) energy storing means associated with said piston whereby release ofthe energy stored by said storing means causes movment of said piston,

(h) manually-operable means to energize said energy storing means,

(i) said energy storing means being adapted to be released by thesequence control means'to thereby cause dispensing of agent into thewash chamber.

2. For use in an automatic washingmachine having a wash chamber adaptedto contain articles to be washed therein, wash means to efifect awashing action upon the articles, and sequence control means to conductthe machine through a sequence of operations comprising a wash cycle, atreating agent dispensing means compris mg: i

(a) a housing forming a reservoir adapted to contain several times thequantity of agent dispensed with each operation of the dispensing means,

(b) metering means disposed within said reservoir to meter apredetermined quantity of agent from said reservoir into the washchamber,

(0) said housing having an upper portion extending at least partiallyinto the wash chamber,

(d) a first passageway formed in said housing and communicating withsaid metering means,

(e) a second passageway formed in said upper portion of said housing andcommunicating with the wash chamber,

. (f) a tube interconnecting said first passageway with said secondpassageway and disposed. within said reservoir,

(g) energy storing means associated with said metering means wherebyrelease of the energy stored by said storing means causes operation ofsaid metering means, and

(h) manually-operable means to energize said energy storing means,

(i) said energy storing means being adapted to be released by thesequence control means to thereby cause dispensing of agent into thewash chamber.

3. The treating agent dispensing means defined in claim 2 furthercomprising a fill tube in said upper portion communicating at one endwith said reservoir and at the other end opening into the wash chamberwherby said reservoir may be filled with agent.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,572,540 10/51Thompson 222-340 X 2,899,S 15 8/59 Hetrick 68-17 3,125,249 3/64 Kendt222--70 LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

1. FOR USE IN AN AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINE HAVING A WASH CHAMBER ADAPTEDTO CONTAIN ARTICLES TO BE WASHED THEREIN WASH MEANS TO EFFECT A WASHINGACTION UPON THE ARTICLES, AND SEQUENCE CONTROL MEANS TO CONDUCT THEMACHINE THROUGH A SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS COMPRISING A WASH CYCLE, ATREATING AGENT DISPENSING MEANS COMPRISING: (A) A HOUSING FORMING ARESERVOIR ADAPTED TO CONTAIN SEVERAL TIMES THE QUANTITY OF AGENTDISPENSED WITH EACH OPERATION OF THE DISPENSING MEANS, (B) A DEPRESSEDSUMP IN THE BOTTOM OF SAID RESERVOIR FORMING A CYLINDER, (C) A PISTONDISPOSED WITHIN SAID RESERVOIR AND ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH SAIDCYLINDER, (D) A FIRST PASSAGEWAY FORMED IN SID HOUSING AND COMMUNICATINGWITH SAID CYLINDER, (E) A SECOND PASSAGEWAY FORMED IN SAID HOUSING ANDCOMMUNICATING WITH THE WASH CHAMBER, (F) A TUBE AT ONE END CONNECTED TOSAID FIRST PASSAGEWAY AT A POINT INTERNALLY OF SAID HOUSING AND AT THEOTHER END CONNECTED TO SAID SECOND PASSAGEWAY AT A POINT INTERNALLY OFSAID HOUSING, (G) ENERGY STORING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID PISTONWHEREBY RELEASE OF THE ENERGY STORED BY SAID STORING MEANS CAUSESMOVEMENT OF SAID PISTON, (H) MANUALLY-OPERABLE MEANS TO ENERGIZE SAIDENERGY STORING MEANS, (I) SAID ENERGY STORING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO BERELEASED BY THE SEQUENCE CONTROL MEANS TO THEREBY CAUSE DISPENSING OFAGENT INTO THE WASH CHAMBER.